Al Franken's Troubles Grow, 2 More Women Accuse Senator Of Sexual Misconduct

Two more women came forward Wednesday with allegations of sexual misconduct against junior senator from Minnesota Al Franken at political events years ago.

The women spoke to the Huffington Post on conditions of anonymity, citing fears of being harassed online and getting affected at work.

The allegations by the women have taken the sexual misconduct accusation count against the Democratic senator to four.

They come a few of days after 33-year-old Lindsay Menz told CNN that Franken grabbed her buttocks while she posed for a picture with him at Minnesota State Fair in 2010, the first allegation of improper touching by Franken while he was in office.

Menz's accusation of sexual misconduct in turn came amid the furore created by a preceding allegation that Franken groped and forcibly kissing radio host Leeann Tweeden while they were on a 2006 USO tour to the Middle East.

While Franken has apologized to Tweeden since, with regards to the accusation by Menz, he told CNN on Sunday in a statement that he did not remember taking the photo with Menz and that he felt "badly" that she felt disrespected.

The two accusations that came to light Wednesday detailed similar stories of groping.

According to the Huffington Post, the first woman said that Franken groped her in June 2007 at an event hosted by the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus in Minneapolis, while the second woman claimed that Franken cupped her buttocks with his hand in 2008 at a Democratic fundraiser in Minneapolis.

The second woman also alleged that Franken asked her to visit the bathroom together.

Talking to the Huffington Post, the first woman, a 38-year-old book editor who was living in Minneapolis at the time, said, “My story is eerily similar to Lindsay Menz’s story. He grabbed my buttocks during a photo op.”

She told the publication the incident happened after she had finished performing with a feminist choir at the caucus, which was attended by Franken and his wife Franni Bryson.

At the end of the program, she and other members of the choir approached him for photos.

She said, “My mother loves Al Franken. She listened to Air America [on which Franken had a radio show] every day. I saw him and asked if we could take a photo together for my mother, and we stood next to each other ... and down his hand went.”

The first woman said that Franken is “a serial groper” and so she wanted to tell her story.

The second woman with whom the incident took place in the fall of 2008 at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis said, “My immediate reaction was disgust.” She added, “But my secondary reaction was disappointment. I was excited to be there and meet him. And so to have that happen really deflated me. It felt like: ‘Is this really the person who is going to be in a position of power to represent our community?’”

The second woman said, “I shook his hand, and he put his arm around my waist and held it there. Then he moved it lower and cupped my butt.”

She added, “I was completely mortified.”

Franken denied the accusations and said that he doesn’t remember either instance. He told the Huffington Post, “It’s difficult to respond to anonymous accusers, and I don’t remember those campaign events.”

Franken added, “I can categorically say that I did not proposition anyone to join me in any bathroom.”